Page 53 of A Hellion for the Highland Hawk
This party is a terrible idea.
She fanned herself with her hand as she stepped out into the hallway, walking quickly in the direction of her bedroom. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the fact that Jane and Adeline would both be there, with their promised means of getting her back to 2026, she might’ve been tempted to call off the whole thing.
After all, how was she supposed to make it through an entire week alone with Hunter and not explode with frustration? More importantly, how was she supposed to stay near him, getting closer to him, yearning for the passion he stoked within her with just a look, when the clock was ticking on his life?
Oh God, please don’t let me do something stupid. Please don’t let me break the universe for one man.
“How do you do this without going stir crazy?” Nancy muttered, her body aching with the effort of trying to keep herself in one position on the velvety bench of the carriage.
On the opposite side, perfectly content, Isla chuckled. “You daenae have carriages where ye hail from?”
“No, not like this,” Nancy replied. “Where I come from, you don’t need horses, and it’s not so damn bumpy.”
She’d been tossed and jerked around for a full night and day, and if she’d bothered to check, she knew she’d find a multitude of bruises across her skin. Mostly, however, she just wanted to be out of that suffocating box as soon as possible.
Hunter had offered to let her ride with him, but she’d figured that was an even worse idea, considering she had never ridden a horse in her life and would have to spend the whole time nestled against him, pressed against his body.
It was difficult enough trying to push thoughts of their night by the stone pool out of her head without having a physical reminder of what she was missing.
Although she couldn’t deny that the view was incredible. Dramatic mountains with misty peaks, glinting with snow, appeared like giants against the gray skies that had plagued them since leaving Castle Lochlann. In the shadow of those mountains were sprawling valleys where streams glittered and undulating stretches of heath, where stags and does raised their heads to listen to the passing rattle of the carriage. Majestic creatures who probably didn’t have to worry nearly as much about hunters.
Then, all of a sudden, there was the sea. A furious, frothing expanse of wild blue that stretched to the bruised horizon. In the distance, Nancy thought she could almost see some kind of land. Islands, maybe. She shuddered, unable to think of anything worse than crossing that tempestuous sea, though she happened to like ferries.
“It’s not very hospitable here, is it?” she asked with a frank laugh as the carriage struggled up a narrow, winding path that didn’t seem to lead anywhere but into a sheer face of rock, still a fair distance ahead of them.
Isla smiled. “Nae so much, but Laird and Lady Culloch are.” She paused. “Well, Lady Culloch is.”
As she pulled down the window to stick her head out, eager to get a better view for Emily’s research, Nancy squinted at the steep ascent. They seemed to be on a cliff edge, which she tried not to think about, and though it seemed like there was nothing up there, she began to pick out unnatural shapes as her eyes adjusted. Almost like one of those magic eye games.
She noted towers jutting up from the natural rock and a few pointed spires that resembled shards of stone. And there, hidden in the rock, appeared to be a gate.
That’s some camouflage,she marveled, while a shiver ran through her.
Just looking at the castle made her feel cold, although that might’ve had more to do with the biting wind lashing at her face, tinged with the salt of the sea.
She quickly ducked back inside the carriage and closed the window, feeling as if she’d just done an ice plunge. Refreshed and invigorated… and more than a little nervous about this gathering.
Before long, the carriage came to a halt inside a sheltered courtyard, with high walls of seemingly natural stone curving around it. As if the castle itself had been hewn out of the cliff.
It will be fine. Adeline is here. Jane is here. This is exactly where you need to be,Nancy told herself as she reached for the door handle.
Before she could turn it, the door swung open to reveal Hunter, windswept and flushed from the ride. Yet, he didn’t seem the least bit cold despite the unforgiving weather, as he stood there in his shirt and belted plaid and nothing else. Not even a cloak.
He held out his hand to her, and after a brief hesitation, she took it and allowed him to help her down, fighting with her skirts as they sought to catch on the doorframe.
She had barely set foot on solid ground when a familiar figure came hurrying out of the main doors of the unusual castle.
“Nancy!” Adeline cried excitedly, forgoing formalities as she wrapped her arms around Nancy and pulled her into a hug. “I couldn’t believe it when Jane said Laird Lochlann was coming and he was bringing you with him.”
With his hand on the small of Nancy’s back, Hunter cleared his throat. “I couldnae attend without me bride.”
His bride…
That funny little feeling fluttered in Nancy’s chest, her heart skipping a beat. She’d never thought she would be anyone’s bride, even if this was just pretend.
Adeline drew back, her face a mask of shock. “Your bride?” She looked at Nancy. “Is this true? Are you getting married?”
“Aye. I’ve invitations for ye, for our engagement celebration,” Hunter replied before Nancy could. “It was me cousin’s idea.”
